Tyrannosaurus rex, or more commonly known as the "T. rex" or (incorrectly) "T-rex", was one of the most versatile predators known to man. It showed amazing adaptations and anatomical dynamics among Dinosauria, which makes it recognizable as the undisputed "King of the Dinosaurs", and adds massively to its status as one of the best-known dinosaurs in human history. It's a species that has become a symbolic representative of the primordial world it ruled, being present everywhere in pop-culture, thus holding tremendous cultural significance as one of the most well-known extinct species.
It bore relatively huge jaws, adapted specifically for a strong bite force, capable of bursting large, thick bones into pieces. One of the trademark features of this animal is the presence of two fingers on each hand. They were reduced in size, relative to body size, to reduce the amount of weight that would be present on the front half of the body, so that the animal could bear its distinctive, large skull. Although they are generally seen as vestigial, they were well-muscled and capable of lifting things that would be too heavy for a person. Its skull has several small depressions scattered around the snout which indicate the presence of large scales. Similarly, the skin texture of its "eyebrows" and "cheekbones" indicate that it had miniature horns or "hornletts" present over there.
Skin impressions of the animal indicate that it was covered in tiny scales, which in life would've given it a very smooth, leathery skin texture. There is no direct evidence of whether this species had feathers or not, but it is considered extremely likely.
Currently, only one species resides in this genus, "T. rex", however, a second species has possibly been teased and will be published soon.
The Ghost of Slumber Mountain (1918)[]
Along the Moonbeam Trail (1921)[]
History
Inaccuracies
Design
Cultural Significance
Monsters of the Past (1923)[]
History
Inaccuracies
Design
Cultural Significance
Gallery
The Lost World (1925)[]
History It looks almost the same as the Allosaurus in the movie.
Inaccuracies Too Megalosaurus-like, with a big round head, and long arms.
Design A plump, barrel-like dinosaur with long, skinny arms.
Cultural Significance This was the first appearance of Tyrannosaurus in a "big" Hollywood picture. However, it is never identified as such and if it were not for different sources citing it to be a tyrannosaur, many viewers would be left to assume that it is a larger variant of one of the film's antagonists, the Allosaurus.
Mistery of Life (1931)[]
History
Inaccuracies
Design
Cultural Significance
King Kong (franchise 1933-2000)[]
History Example
Inaccuracies Example
Design Example
Cultural Significance While the Tyrannosaurus rex was already considered a well known dinosaur, the film solidified Tyrannosaurus as the most famous dinosaur thanks to the iconic scene where it battled the titular giant ape. The film's script labels it a "Meat Eater", but based upon the sources used to create the monster, the dinosaur in question is most certainly the elusive Tyrannosaurus.
Prehistoric Animals (1938)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
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Fantasia (1940)[]
History[]
Example
Inaccuracies[]
- The Tyrannosaurus rex in The Rite of Spring sequence of Fantasia has three fingers, and is more similar in appearance to an Allosaurus.
- The Tyrannosaurus rex in Fantasia battles a Stegosaurus, a plated thyreophoran dinosaur that lived in the Late Jurassic period.
Design[]
Example
Cultural Significance[]
Example
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Journey to the Beginning of Time (1955)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
The Beast of Hollow Mountain (1956)[]
History and Design
Role
Inaccuracies
Cultural Significance
Gallery
The Animal World (1956)[]
History and Design[]
It is based on Charles R. Knight's design of the Dinosaur.
Role[]
It is shown in the Cretaceous Segment of the film and battles a Triceratops. It and along with the other dinosaurs died out in the fiery rage of the volcano.
Inaccuracies[]
It is based on Charles R. Knight design of the dinosaur.
Cultural Significance[]
Gallery[]
The Land Unknown (1957)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
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Dinosaurus! (1960)[]
Species
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
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The Flinstones (franchise 1960-2023)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
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'Gallery
The Lost World (1960)[]
It is a giant monitor lizard with horns, sails and can stand upright as an adult. Including a little Tokay Gecko as a baby.
Dino Boy In The Lost Valley (1966)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
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Reptiles and Amphibians (1968-1989)[]
History and Design
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Role
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Dinosaurs: The Terrible Lizards (1970)[]
History and Design
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Role
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Super Sentai/Power Rangers (1972-2022)[]
History and Design
Role
Inaccuracies
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The Valley of the Dinosaurs (TV series 1974)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
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The Land that Time Forgot (1974)[]
History and Design
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Role
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Land of the Lost (TV series 1974-1976)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
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The Hot-Blooded Dinosaurs (1976)[]
History and Design
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Role
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The Last Dinosaur (1977)[]
History and Design
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Role
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A Journey To The Center Of The Earth (animated TV movie 1977)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role The T. rex was briefly seen fighting with a Triceratops
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Dinosaur War Izenborg (TV series 1977-1978)[]
History and Design
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Role
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Dinosaurs: A First Film (1978)[]
History and Design
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Role
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Planet of Dinosaurs (1978)[]
History and Design
Role: the main Antagonists.
Inaccuracies
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Age of the Great Dinosaurs (1979)[]
History and Design
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Role
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Doraemon's Dinosaur Movies (1980-2006)[]
History and Design
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Role
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Whatever Happened to the Dinosaurs? (1980)[]
History and Design
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Role
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Dinosaurs! A Fun-Filled Trip Back In Time! (1980)[]
History and Design
Role
Inaccuracies
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64,000,000 Years Ago (1981)[]
History and Design
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Role
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Caveman (1981)[]
History and Design
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Role
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Dinosaurs: Fun, Fact and Fantasy (1982)[]
History and Design
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Role
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Transformers (franchise) (1984-2022)[]
History and Design
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Role
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Pterodactyls Alive (1985)[]
History and Design
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Prehistoric Beast (1985)[]
History and Design
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Dinosaur (special) (1985)[]
History and Design
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My Science Project (1985)[]
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Role
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Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs (1985)[]
History and Design
Role
Inaccuracies
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Prehistoric Animals and Plants (1986)[]
Species
History and Design
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Role
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Dinosaurcers (1987)[]
History and Design
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Role
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Son of Dinosaurs (1988)[]
History and Design
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Role
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Dino Riders (TV Series and Toys 1988-2020)[]
Species
History and Design
Inaccuracies
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The Land Before Time Franchise (1988-2016)[]
History[]
Several characters in The Land Before Time series are Tyrannosaurus rex. The original Land Before Time’s main antagonist (called Sharptooth), Chomper, his parents, the legendary Tyrannosaurus rex that The Lone Dinosaur defeats in The Secret of Saurus Rock, the Tyrannosaurus rex that attacks Littlefoot in the canyon in The Secret of Saurus Rock, and the television show’s main villain Red Claw are examples of Tyrannosaurus rex characters in The Land Before Time series.
Inaccuracies[]
- Although the original Land Before Time came out after the dinosaur renaissance, the tyrannosaurs are still shown in a tripod stance, but there are scenes in each film that have the tyrannosaurs in a horizontal posture that we see as accurate today.
- Most of The Land Before Time’s tyrannosaurs have two fingers like the real dinosaur, but Chomper is shown with three fingers.
- The original Land Before Time’s villainous Tyrannosaurus rex battles the diplodocid dinosaur Apatosaurus. Apatosaurus lived in the Late Jurassic period, from 152 to 151 million years ago, 86 to 85 million years before Tyrannosaurus rex appeared. Similar to the Tyrannosaurus rex from the original film, the legendary Tyrannosaurus rex from the sixth Land Before Time film The Secret of Saurus Rock attacks a Brachiosaurus herd, only to be defeated by a Diplodocus called The Lone Dinosaur, who knocks the tyrannosaur off a cliff. Brachiosaurus and Diplodocus lived in a similar time span to Apatosaurus, and were already extinct by the time Tyrannosaurus rex appeared. Tyrannosaurus rex, however, coexisted with a large saltasaurid Titanosaur called Alamosaurus.
- Tyrannosaurs are now known not to roar, but to vocalize with their mouths closed.
- The tyrannosaurs in The Land Before Time have smooth faces, and lack bosses that real tyrannosaurs had.
- Like other large carnivorous theropods, tyrannosaurids, including Tyrannosaurus rex, in real life were not super-persistent predators like repeatedly shown in The Land Before Time series.
- One episode of The Land Before Time television show makes a reference to Jurassic Park in the fact that if the gang do not move, Red Claw will not notice them. Tyrannosaurus rex in reality had excellent vision, and its eyes face forward in a similar manner to that of a hawk or an eagle. So, even if the prey didn’t move, Tyrannosaurus rex could still see them.
- Young Tyrannosaurus rex in The Land Before Time series look like baby versions of the adults, but in reality, they had very different proportions; long legs similar to those seen on ostriches and slender skulls with sharp teeth. They could have had some feathers too.
Design
Example
Cultural Significance
Example
NOVA: God, Darwin, and Dinosaurs (1989)[]
Species
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
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Stanley and The Dinosaurs(1989)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Dink: The Little Dinosaur (1989-1990)[]
Species
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Dinosaurs Of The Jurassic And Other Periods (1991)[]
Species
History and Design
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Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Dinosaurs (Smithsonian Video) (1991)[]
Species
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Dinosaur! Walter Cronkite (1991)[]
Species
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Paleoworld (TV series 1991-1997)[]
Species
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Adventures in Dinosaur City (1991)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
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Dinosaurs TV Series (1991-1994)[]
Species
History and Design
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Role
Cultural Significance
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Rugrats (1991-2004)[]
T-Rex Exposed (1991)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Land of the Lost TV Series (1991-1992)[]
Species
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
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The New Explorers - Fragments Of Time (1992)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
The Dinosaurs! (1992)[]
History and Design
Role
Inaccuracies
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Doctor Mordrid (1992)[]
History and Design
Role
Inaccuracies
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The Lost World (franchise 1992)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Mighty Max (TV series 1993-1994)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Carnosaur (franchise 1993-1996)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
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Jurassic Park franchise (1993-2022)[]
History[]
In the Jurassic franchise, the Tyrannosaurus has become a very prominent member of the creature roster. Multiple different individuals of the species have appeared in all installments, especially Jurassic Park and The Lost World: Jurassic Park, which feature it heavily.
Inaccuracies[]
An odd notch in the mouth-line of the lower jaw, semi-lips, pronated hands, incorrect leg musculature.
Design[]
The design of the Tyrannosaurus is fairly accurate for the most part, due to being based on Gregory S. Paul's skeletal of Tyrannosaurus.
Gregory S. Paul's Tyrannosaurus skeletal
The crest, cheek horn, and raised eyebrows of the actual animal are all present in Jurassic Park's rendition. Both females and males share similar design features, such as the belly scutes, but there are few differences in the anatomy of the male. The females are counter-shaded with a brown upperside and tan or light brown underside. Dark brown stripes run from their snout to the tip of the tail. The "antorbital" area of the snout is light in coloration, while the eyes are yellow.
Visible Sexual Dimorphism between the male and female Tyrannosaurus
Meanwhile the males adorn a dewlap, a larger nasal crest, and a different coloration, having a green body instead of a brown one. The green is the upper countershading, which transitions into a yellow, to a white underside. Its back is dark in color and has yellow stripes on it running the length of the body. There are also dark stripes present on the yellow antorbital of the snout.
The juvenile has proportionally longer legs, and a short, blunt snout with large eyes.
There is also a male individual in Jurassic Park 3 that superficially resembles the male Tyrannosaurus from the previous movie. It is generally speculated to be a subadult, as it lacks the more vibrant colors of the male, only retaining the green, while also being shorter in size. However, it is possible that all of these are simply just examples of individual variation.
Stan Winston, designer of the animatronics and the creatures
Individuals[]
There are about at least four individuals seen onscreen in the show.
- Rexy: The original Jurassic Park Tyrannosaurus which is now seen in the Jurassic World, is known as Rexy. She originally had no name, however, in the novel, a drunk Muldoon refers to her as "Rexie". Fans took this name and started calling her by "Rexy". Recently the novelization, "The Evolution of Claire" was released which also calls her by Rexy, henceforth making that her official, in-universe name as well.
- Junior: Tembo refers to the juvenile Tyrannosaurus seen in The Lost World: Jurassic Park as Junior, jokingly. It has inadvertently become the name of this individual.
- Buck: Tembo jokingly refers to the adult male Tyrannosaurus seen in The Lost World: Jurassic Park as a Buck. It has inadvertently become the name of this individual.
- Doe: Since the male Tyrannosaurus in The Lost World: Jurassic Park is referred to as Buck, it is assumed that the female would naturally be called Doe.
- JP3 individual: This individual has not been given a specific name anywhere. Despite being a male, it is generally considered to be a subadult by the fandom due to the lack of more vibrant markings present in the male seen in The Lost World: Jurassic Park.
Cultural Significance[]
The appearance of Tyrannosaurus from the Jurassic franchise has become incredibly widespread, famous, and iconic to the point where it is usually the image used for the animal by less scientifically informed sources and is very often ripped off.
Gallery: Tyrannosaurus (Jurassic Park franchise)/Gallery
Rex: Dinosaur Story (1993)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Kyoryu Wakusei (Dinosaur Planet) (1993-1994)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Cadillacs and Dinosaurs (1993-1994)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
We’re Back! A Dinosaur Story (1993)[]
History and Design One of the characters movie named Rex is the leader of the dinosaur group.
Inaccuracies
Role In this movie an male T. rex called Rex is sent into the 21st century to give children the experience of knowing a real dinosaur.
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Prehysteria Trilogy (1993-1995)[]
History and Design
Role
Inaccuracies
'Gallery
Nova: The Real Jurassic Park (1993)[]
Species
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Gene Diver (1994-1995)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
'Gallery
Tyranno’s Claw (1994)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
'Gallery
Dinosaur Island (1994)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
'Gallery
Eyewitness: Dinosaur (1994)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
'Gallery
Tammy and the T-rex (1994)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Toy Story (franchise 1995-2019)[]
History and Design
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Role
Cultural Significance
'Gallery
Josh Kirby Time Warrior Chapters 1 & 2[]
History and Design
Role
Inaccuracies
Gallery
Theodore Rex (1995)[]
History and Design
Role
Inaccuracies
Gallery
Dinosaurs on Earth: Then...& Now (1995)[]
History and Design
Role
Inaccuracies
Gallery
Boneheads: Detectives of the Paleoworld (1995)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Planet of Life (1995)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Dinosaurs: Myths and Reality (1995)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Dinosaur Digs: A Fossil Finders Tour (1995)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Dinosaur Babes (1996)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
The Ultimate Guide: T-Rex (TV Movie 1996)[]
'History Example
Inaccuracies Example
Design
Example
Cultural Significance
Example
Gallery
Extreme Dinosaurs (1997)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Beyond T. Rex (1997)[]
Species
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Nova: Curse of the T. Rex (1997)[]
Species
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous (1998)[]
Role
History
Inaccuracies
Design
Gallery
The Lost World (1998)[]
History and Design
- It looked a little bit like as it was millions of years ago, but the creature appeared to have evolved.
Role
Inaccuracies
- Long arms instead of short.
Gallery
Life of Birds: To Fly or Not to Fly? (1998)[]
Species
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
National Geographic Explorer - Dinosaur Fever (1998)[]
Species
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Dinosaurs: Messages in Stone (1998)[]
Species
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Blackadder: Back & Forth (1999)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Dinosaur Attack! (1999)[]
Species
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
When Dinosaurs Ruled (1999)[]
Species
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
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Trilogy of Life (1999-2003)[]
Inaccuracies[]
While the animal's shown behavior and the model for the chicks are pretty spot on, the model for the adults has several inaccuracies. It is heavily shrinkwrapped, one very prominent example of this being a strange ridge separating the head and neck that clearly shows where the skull ends and the neck begins, which wouldn't be visible on the animal in life. Another example of this shrinkwrapping is the absence of the immense neck muscles which contributed to the animal's powerful jaw strength, the model having a thinner, baggier neck. In addition, the tail is too short, making the animal appear unbalanced, and it has pronated hands and semi-lips.
It is also now known from fossilized skin impressions of the animal that, while it was covered in scales, these scales were rather small and more bird-like, unlike the large lizard-like scales seen in the program. However, this wasn't known at the time and this was actually an intentional choice made by designer Daren Horley, who did it so the scales would be noticeable on screen, despite knowing that this would technically be inaccurate.
Tyrannosaurus rex could not roar but instead used closed-mouth vocalization, like alligators and certain bird species such as cassowaries and bitterns. Unlike what is shown in the program, it is most likely that the male Tyrannosaurus rex took care of the young instead of the female, much like emus and rheas.
Design[]
The Walking with Dinosaurs Tyrannosaurus model has a primarily ash-black colored body, while also exhibiting countershading, as it's underside is white. The tail is also striped these colors. Additionally, it has a red throat, which is stated in the companion book Walking with Dinosaurs: A Natural History to be a means of display.
The chicks have a very similar coloration, also being black and white, but without the red throat or striped tail, and having small white stripes on their back.
Cultural Significance[]
While Walking with Dinosaurs is perhaps the most popular and well-received dinosaur documentary, its Tyrannosaurus model has gone down to be one of the most heavily criticized designs of the entire series and in comparison with many other Tyrannosaurus models in other paleo-documentaries, due to its anatomical inaccuracies. Darren Naish in his "100 years of Tyrannosaurus rex" article on scienceblogs.com calls it "one of the least accurate modern renditions of this animal".[1]
Despite this, its color scheme has become very recognizable, iconic, and one of the few well-received aspects of the model. A great example of this is how Beasts of the Mesozoic is actually creating a variant of their Tyrannosaurus figure with a coloration based on the Walking with Dinosaurs model, having won by popular vote by fans against color schemes based on other popular media depictions of Tyrannosaurus, even the likes of one with colors based on old Jurassic Park figure.
Gallery[]
Disney's Dinosaur (2000)[]
History[]
Tyrannosaurus rex was originally meant to appear in the Disney film as the main antagonist, but got scrapped. It was replaced by Carnotaurus that its debut in the Disney film instead.
Design[]
One design by Ricardo Delgado.
Gallery[]
Dinozaurs (2000)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Dinosaur Adventure (Cartoon movie 2000)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
When Dinosaurs Ruled - The Real Jurassic Park (1999)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
‘’Kong: The Animated Series (2000-2001)[]
Species
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
‘’Living with Dinosaurs (2000)[]
Species
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
When Dinosaurs Roamed America (2001)[]
Tyrannosaurus Rex as it appears on the WDRA "Go Back In Time" interactive
Inaccuracies[]
There is a recent theory that male Tyrannosaurus rex were responsible for taking care of their young much like emus and rheas, but this was not known at the time the documentary When Dinosaurs Roamed America was made. Tyrannosaurus rex did not roar but instead used closed-mouth vocalization for communication, much like alligators and ratites such as ostriches and cassowaries, as well as bitterns, which gulp air and pump it up. However, this was not known at the time of production. The Tyrannosaurus rex youngsters in When Dinosaurs Roamed America have the same proportions as their parents, when they should be more gracile and slender, with long legs like those seen on ostriches and slender skulls. They should also be covered in feathers, making them look like long-legged ducklings with teeth, but at the time the documentary When Dinosaurs Roamed America was made, this was not known yet.
Design[]
Example
Cultural Significance[]
Example
Gallery[]
Valley of the T. rex (2001)[]
History
Example
Inaccuracies
Example
Design
Example
Cultural Significance
Example
Gallery
The Legend of Tarzan (2001-2002)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Dinosaur Island (2002)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Dinotopia (franchise) (2002-2005)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Dinosaur Secrets Revealed (2002)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Dinosaur Planet (2003)[]
Design
The model is reused from the earlier Discovery Channel production Valley of the T. rex, coloured from dark colours to dark green.
Cultural Significance
Example
Gallery
Jeff Corwin's Giant Monsters (2003)[]
History
Tyrannosaurus is subject of the first segment, chasing Jeff around and scavenging a dead cow. Corwin compares the animal to a Collared lizard and a Turkey vulture because of its bipedal nature and scavenging behavior respectively.
Inaccuracies
Example
Design
Example
Cultural Significance
Example
Gallery
TMNT “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” (2003-2009)[]
History Example
Inaccuracies Example
Design Example
Cultural Significance Example
Gallery
T.Rex: Warrior or Wimp? (2004)[]
Species
History and Design
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Role
Cultural Significance
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T. Rex: A Dinosaur in Hollywood (2004)[]
Species
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Harry and His Bucket Full of Dinosaurs (2005-2008)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Ben 10 (2005-2008)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
The Truth About Killer Dinosaurs AKA Dinosaur Face-Off (2005)[]
History
Bill Oddie features Tyrannosaurus rex in the first episode of The Truth About Killer Dinosaurs along with its rival Triceratops. In the first outcome, the Tyrannosaurus rex runs down the Triceratops, knocks it over, and starts ripping out chunks of flesh from its prey. In the second outcome, a pair of Triceratops lock horns with each other, and after the fight is over, the Tyrannosaurus rex singles out the one Triceratops. It bites onto one of the Triceratops’s horns and breaks it off, before chomping on its frill. After a mock charge, the Triceratops gores the T. rex in the stomach and the large theropod slowly dies. The Triceratops watches the Tyrannosaurus rex die for a few minutes, and then goes back to foraging for food.
Inaccuracies
Example
Design
Example
Cultural Significance
Example
Gallery
King Kong (2005)[]
A large theropod called Vastatosaurus appears in the film that, according to Peter Jackson, is the result of Tyrannosaurus being isolated on Skull Island and evolving over millions of years.
Prehistoric Park (2006)[]
Inaccuracies
- The frame of the T. rex is too slender. This is due to it actually being a recycled Albertosaurus model, with only a slight color change differentiating the two.
- The tail of the model slopes when it should be straight.
- Tyrannosaurus rex could not roar. Instead, it relied on closed-mouth vocalization.
- T. rex males were likely to take care of their young like emus and rheas.
- David Jason says that Tyrannosaurus rex ran up to 40 miles per hour. A recent study shows that this theropod had a speed closer to that of humans.
- Young tyrannosaurs had different proportions compared to adults.
- Tyrannosaurus rex could have been covered in feathers.
- Both Nigel Marven and David Jason say that if a T. rex trips or falls down, they get either injured or killed. But in The Bug House in Prehistoric Park, Matilda collapses due to a tranquilizer dart without any ill effects.
- In Prehistoric Park, Tyrannosaurus rex are kept and treated like other reptiles such as lizards and crocodiles. The correct inference is that they should be kept and treated more like birds, as both birds and T. rex are coelurosaurian theropods.
Significance
Example
T-Rex: New Science, New Beast (2006)[]
History
Example
Inaccuracies
Example
Design
Example
Cultural Significance
Example
Gallery
Dino Lab (2006/2010)[]
History
Example
Inaccuracies
Example
Design
In Dino Lab I, the model is reused from Valley of the T. rex.
Cultural Significance
Example
Gallery
Night at the Museum (Films 2006-2014)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Dino Death Trap (2007)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Dino Autopsy (2007)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Dinosaur King (2007-2009)[]
History and Design
Featured prominantly in all media (arcade game, anime, DS game, TCG), the primary Tyrannosaurus model was an intense dark red with a pair of yellow stripes down its neck and back, being the poster example of the Fire Attribute comprising of large theropods. Later on, it received several altered forms which were recolors with different stats and backstories: the larger black and orange Black Tyrannosaurus, the flame-like orange crystal armor of Dinotector Tyrannosaurus, the white and gold Gigas (named for "Manospondylus gigas", an old Tyrannosaurus synonym) with purple-plated Spectral Armor bearing large pink crystal spikes, and the red, orange, and gray Super Tyrannosaurus.
Inaccuracies
Though standard at the time, many details have since been overturned by science, such as the lack of lips exposing the teeth, a mobile tongue, loud roaring, and the torso not being nearly as barrel-shaped, plus a far more visibly pebbly scale texture.
Role
In the anime, a standard red Tyrannosaurus named "Terry" was the first and primary dinosaur card summoned by the season 1 villains, the Alpha Gang, fighting wild card-activated dinosaurs and the D-Team heroes in many episodes using the Fire attack Volcano Burst, also proving a powerful physical threat and the likeliest to defeat one of the D-Team's dinosaurs. While he receives Dinotector Armor like the other main dinosaurs in season 2, his and the Alpha Gangs' roles had been greatly reduced after their reformation and replacement with new villains. Still, Terry is present in most significant battles in both seasons.
In the season 1 finale arc, rogue Alpha Gang member Seth resurrects a perfect Tyrannosaurus fossil into the gigantic genetically altered "Black T. rex", a scaled-up behemoth 3 times larger than a regular Tyrannosaurus in every dimension, and armed with the devastating meteor-summoning attack Fire Scorcher. It takes a small army of over two dozen dinosaurs summoned by the D-Team and Alpha Gang joining forces to eventually defeat it by combining their attacks into a Super Fusion Move.
Late in season 2, the alien Spectral Space Pirate villains are given new, altered dinosaurs with stronger Spectral Armor, including "Gigas", a white Tyrannosaurus with a fan of forward-arcing crystal spikes on his back to use his signature Spectral Lancer attack, which started off almost unbeatable. Though eventually overpowered with brute force, he remained in use until the Space Pirates' ultimate defeat.
Only featured in the arcade game, Super Tyrannosaurus is a temporary power-boosted state of certain Tyrannosaurus cards to aid in battle.
Cultural Significance
Though Dinosaur King was not a long-running hit, Terry was popular enough for cheap knockoff toys (not even all dinosaurs) to illegally use his image on their packaging.
Gallery
Primeval (2007-2011)[]
History Example
Inaccuracies Example
Design Example
Cultural Significance Example
Gallery
Jurassic Fight Club (2008)[]
Gallery[]
The Quest For Dragons (2008)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Evolve (2008)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Dinosaur Train (2009-2020)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
T.Rex Walks Again (2009)[]
Role
Inaccuracies
History and Design
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Dinosaurs Decoded (2009)[]
History
Example
Inaccuracies
Example
Design
Example
Cultural Significance
Example
Gallery
Land of the Lost (2009)[]
History
Example
Inaccuracies
Example
Design
Example
Cultural Significance
Example
Gallery
Bizarre Dinosaurs (2009)[]
Role
Inaccuracies
History and Design
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Dinomorphosis (2009)[]
Role
Inaccuracies
History and Design
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Ice Age (franchise) (2009)[]
History and Design[]
Role[]
Inaccuracies[]
Cultural Significance[]
Gallery[]
Prehistoric (2009-2010)[]
History and Design[]
The Tyrannosaurus has a gray coloration with pronated hands, thin, and with a slightly long neck.
Inaccuracies[]
The T. rex in the documentary has long legs and a rather short tail, while also being quite thin. He has pronated hands and protruding teeth. Tyrannosaurus did not inhabit 70 million years ago.
Role[]
In the episode "Chicago", the Tyrannosaurus attacks an Edmontosaurus that was eating, a chase ensues and the T. rex manages to bite the hadrosaur's back but the Edmontosaurus escapes. In the episode "Denver", a battle between a Tyrannosaurus rex and a Triceratops takes place with the former winning before extinction.
Gallery[]
Clash of the Dinosaurs (2009)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significanc
Gallery
Animal Armageddon (2009)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Waking the T. Rex: The Story of Sue (2010)[]
History
Example
Inaccuracies
Example
Design[]
The design appearance of SUE & 1 or 2 of her kind was a cross between A few known previous T. rexes in the previous years. Jurassic Park Franchise, T. Rex Back to the Cretaceous, When Dinosaurs Roamed America, & Jurassic Fight Club.
Gallery
Cultural Significance
Example
Last Day of the Dinosaurs (2010)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Tyrannosaurus Sex (2010)[]
History and Design
Role
Inaccuracies
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Dino Dan/Dana (2010-2020)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
You are Umasou (Films 2010-2012)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Triassic Attack (2010)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Earth: The Making of a Planet (2011)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Dino Gangs (2011)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Dinosaur Revolution (2011)[]
Planet Dinosaur (2011)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Speckles the Tarbosaurus (2012)[]
History
An antagonistic Tyrannosaurus rex named One-Eye is the main antagonist of Speckles the Tarbosaurus, personally killing the mother and siblings of the titular Tarbosaurus character, Near the end, Speckles drowns One-Eye in the ocean and two Tylosaurus help him avenge the deaths of his mother and siblings by taking the Tyrannosaurus rex as a meal for them.
Inaccuracies
Example
Design
Example
Gallery
Dino Time AKA Back to the Jurassic (2012)[]
History and Design
Role: the main Protagonist.
Inaccuracies
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Jurassic Attack AKA Rise of the Dinosaurs (2013)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Age of Dinosaurs (2013)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Avengers Assemble (2013-2019)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Hulk and The Agents of S.M.A.S.H (2013-2015)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (2014)[]
History
A depiction of Tyrannosaurus is briefly seen on the "Tree of Life," showing its place on the evolutionary ladder.
Inaccuracies
Example
Design
The model was made by Dinoraul on Renderosity.
Gallery
NOVA: Bigger Than T-Rex (2014)[]
History
Example
Inaccuracies
Example
Design
Example
Cultural Significance
Example
Dinosaur Island (2014)[]
History
Example
Inaccuracies
- The T. rex is over-feathered.
- The T. rex has pronated hands.
Design
Example
Cultural Significance
The design of the T. rex has often been mocked as an example of how inaccurate feathered dinosaurs can be or misunderstood by the public.
Dino Death Match (2015)[]
History and Design
'Inaccuracies'Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
T.Rex. Ultimate Survivor (2015)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
T.Rex Autopsy (2015)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
The Good Dinosaur (2015)[]
History and Design
Role: the main Protagonists.
Inaccuracies
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Dino Hunt Canada (2015)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Dinotrux (2015-2018)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Leaps in Evolution (2015)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Adventures of Ceratops (2016)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
T. rex: An Evolutionary Journey (2016)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Ancient Earth (Season 1 2017)[]
History
Example
Inaccuracies
Example
Design
The model was made by Missset on Turbosquid.
Cultural Significance
Example
My Pet Dinosaur (2017)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Super Dinosaur (2018-2019)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Deadly Dinosaurs (2018)[]
History and Design
Example
Role
Example
Inaccuracies
Example
Cultural Significance
Example
Gallery
The Jurassic Games (2018)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
The Real T. Rex with Chris Packham (2018)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Amazing Dinoworld (2019-2023)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Primal (2019-2022)[]
Species
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Dino Hunters (2020)[]
Role
Example
Inaccuracies
Example
History and Design
Example
Cultural Significance
Example
Gallery
Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous (2020-2022)[]
History and Design
Role
Cultural Significance
Species
Gallery
Gigantosaurus TV Series (Season 2 2021)[]
Inaccuracies
T. rex has a few features off from reality. Such as three fingers instead of two and spikes and longer arms.
History and Design
Example
Cultural Significance
Example
Gallery
Dinosaurs: The Final Day AKA Dinosaur Apocalypse (2022)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Prehistoric Planet (2022)[]
Inaccuracies
History and Design
Example
Cultural Significance
Example
Gallery
Dinosauria (2021-2022)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Life On Our Planet (2023)[]
Coming 2023, Only on Netflix, Life on Our Planet is our new 8-part series, produced in partnership with Amblin Television, and narrated by Morgan Freeman. It's the story of life's epic battle to conquer and survive on planet Earth.
65 (2023)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Prehistoric Planet 2 (2023)[]
History and Design
Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
I Am T-Rex (Wo shi ba wang long / 我是霸王龙) (2023)[]
History and Design Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Spider Man across the spider verse (2023)[]
History and Design Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Meg 2: The Trench (2023)[]
History and Design Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Dinosaur Empire The Series (2024)[]
History and Design Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
T-rex (2024)[]
History and Design Inaccuracies
Role
Cultural Significance
Gallery
Walking With Dinosaurs (2025)[]
Trivia[]
GvKG concept art
- Godzilla was once considered to be Tyrannosaurus rex prior to being mutated for Godzilla vs King Ghidorah, however Nishikawa said that he couldn't accept the idea that Godzilla was mutated from a Tyrannosaurus,thus he came up with the idea for the Godzillasaurus.